From celebrations of friendship, to films that revel in solitude, we take a look at the 10 of the best queer movies that lit up our 2019.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
French director Céline Sciamma delivered the year’s brightest with this 18th century-set masterpiece. An iridescent portrait of female love, friendship and intellect, Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant excel as a noblewoman promised to a man she’s never met and the artist secretly commissioned to capture her likeness. An instant classic aching with stolen glances, it rightly won the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Truly magnificent, this is a seminal filmmaker at the top of their game so early in their career.
And Then We Danced
Swedish-Georgian writer/director Levan Akin’s swooning romance is an act of cultural defiance conceived in the aftermath of an assault on the 2013 Tbilisi Pride parade. Ginger-curled Levan Gelbakhiani, spotted on Instagram, plays an ambitious young traditional Georgian dancer whose life is upended when he falls for a competing lead (Bachi Valishvili). Sweden’s Oscar hopeful, the courageous cast and crew faced considerable backlash at home. The joyous product is worth it, with the final shot sublime. Seahorse
Gay trans man Freddy McConnell gifts us an incredibly generous look at his journey towards fatherhood via personal pregnancy in this riveting documentary exploring societal expectations at the intersection of gender and sexuality. Respectfully captured by intuitive director Jeanie Finlay, it follows the soaring highs and crushing blows as Freddy navigates unreasonable societal pressure, heaped on by friends, lovers, family and himself. Pain and Glory
Queer elders are all-too rarely represented on our screens, and often relegated to support roles when they are. Celebrated Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar puts paid to that with this heartfelt musing on what it means to face mortality alone, and the legacy we leave, both artistic and personal. Casting a career-best Antonio Banderas as a reclusive director not entirely unlike himself looking back on his life (with Penélope Cruz as his mum in flashback), a quiet scene involving an ex-lover (Leonardo Sbaraglia) is a tear-inducing triumph. Booksmart
We don’t get enough queer stories about friendship, either, so Olivia Wilde’s feature debut as writer/director was tragically underseen on Australian screens. Kaitlyn Dever is brilliant as an academic-focused teen whose high school crush on a skater girl, also uncommonly, isn’t played as a pivotal a coming-out story. She’s already totally out and proud, with the hurdles that of any other awkward first love. That particular diversion ultimately plays second fiddle to one wild night with her straight bestie, played by an also brilliant Beanie Feldstein. Tehran: City of Love
A highlight of this year’s Iranian Film Festival, Abbas Kiarostami mentee Ali Jaberansari’s debut feature is a quietly triumphant miracle. A bittersweet triptych of sorts, it weaves through the briefly interconnecting lives of three lonely hearts. The bravest thread takes a subtly revolutionary look at a retired weightlifter-turned actor and personal trainer (Amir Hessam Bakhtiari) whose longing eye turns to his young male trainee (Amir Reza Alizadeh). Jonathan Agassi Saved my Life
A fascinating gem from this year’s Jewish International Film Festival, prolific Israeli documentary filmmaker Tomer Heymann (Who's Gonna Love Me Now?, Mr. Gaga) spent years in the company of one of the world’s most in-demand and out-there gay porn stars. An eye-opener unafraid of showing the more X-rated elements of the job, and the weight of it on Agassi’s shoulders, it’s also a love letter to Agassi’s cheer-leading mum and her own difficult journey. An ode to family and identity that never feels gratuitous. End of the Century
On the surface, Argentinian writer/director Lucio Castro’s Barcelona-set love story looks like a Weekend-style whirlwind meet-cute between two lads with electric chemistry (Juan Barberini and Ramón Pujol). Increasingly and intriguingly non-linear, its puzzle-box structure with flashbacks that appear contemporaneous will have you scratching your head in the very best way. Leaving an indelible mark, a dreamy dance sequence features the year’s best needle drop, courtesy of 80s band A Flock of Seagulls. Man Made
Gracing both the Melbourne Queer and Mardi Gras Film Festivals, author, journalist and filmmaker T Cooper’s powerful doco follows four very different trans men as they prepare for weightlifting competition Trans Fitcon. Compelling, clear-eyed and candid, it rigorously examines divergent notions of masculinity, with one strand in particular illuminating the complicated emotional journey of a relationship when one partner transitions. The biggest muscle on show here is this film’s big, beating heart. The Blonde One
Argentinian filmmaker Marco Berger loves a slow tease more often than not leading to nowhere, which can make his nonetheless beautifully crafted films a touch frustrating at times. But not so with this radiant Buenos Aires-set dance between two hesitantly circling co-workers and flatmates (Gaston Re, Alfonso Barón). Smouldering and constantly shifting in its fluid look at undefined sexuality, loyal fans will finally be rewarded for their patience. Honourable mentions: Rocketman, Sequin in a Blue Room, Tremors, This Is Not Berlin, Matthias & Maxime.
